A Self-Cultivation of a Stand-in [Transmigration GL] - Chapter 6

“Oh…” Hua Luoyue nodded silently, choosing not to poke a hole in that glaringly obvious excuse.

Yu Zhezhi stared at her for a moment, then pulled over a chair and sat down by the hospital bed. She turned her head, saw the newly delivered test reports on the nightstand, and picked them up to leaf through them.

There were no major issues—mostly just minor ailments induced by malnutrition and long-term irregular eating habits.

“Have you seen this?” Yu Zhezhi asked.

“No…” Hua Luoyue shook her head.

“Take a good look for yourself.” Yu Zhezhi handed her the report while observing her expression.

As Hua Luoyue flipped through the pages, her face showed no signs of surprise or lingering fear. However, when she lowered her head slightly, the wound on her forehead became particularly striking.

Yu Zhezhi narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “I will deposit your monthly living expenses directly into your card. I won’t be stingy with you regarding your basic needs. You don’t need to feel like I’m giving you charity, either; if outsiders think I’m mistreating my wife, it will bring me a lot of trouble.”

Hua Luoyue nodded. “Alright…”

Her cooperativeness caused Yu Zhezhi’s dissatisfaction to dissipate slightly.

“You’ve slept for nearly a day. The doctor said you can be discharged as soon as you wake up. If you’re feeling up to it, I’ll have someone go with you to move your things,” Yu Zhezhi said. “I’ve already filed an application with your school; you don’t have to live in the dorms anymore.”

The way Yu Zhezhi spoke left absolutely no room for argument. Fortunately, Hua Luoyue didn’t feel any resentment. She accepted Yu Zhezhi’s arrangements wholesale, nodding repeatedly like a puppet.

Yu Zhezhi gradually began to find this boring. After giving instructions about taking her medicine on time and applying the ointment, she lost any desire to continue the conversation.

But then she thought about the girl being bullied at school and felt she should say a few more words.

I suppose this is the trouble with raising a child, Yu Zhezhi thought. She felt a twinge of annoyance, though she couldn’t tell if it was directed at Hua Luoyue’s cowardice or the toxic atmosphere at the school.

“Regarding the fight, I hope there won’t be a second time,” Yu Zhezhi said.

This was the only sentence Hua Luoyue didn’t immediately acknowledge.

Yu Zhezhi studied her for a moment. Seeing no obvious sign of reluctance on her face, she asked, “Why did you fight them?”

Hua Luoyue replied, “Because for some things, just using your mouth isn’t enough.”

Whether it was Yuan Xiaoxiao or those thugs, they weren’t the type of people who could be moved by words. Using power to suppress them would be too costly and might annoy Yu Zhezhi. Ultimately, direct action was the only option. At the very least, she had to let them know she wasn’t someone who would simply retreat and endure forever; otherwise, they would only escalate their behavior.

In her previous life, due to family upheavals, Hua Luoyue had spent a long time surviving at the very bottom of society. She could tell at a glance that Yuan Xiaoxiao and her lot were just paper tigers. They only dared to bully the weak; when faced with a lunatic who didn’t value their own life, they would always run faster than anyone.

Yu Zhezhi scoffed at this. “Fighting violence with violence is a barbarian’s way of handling things. Besides, you’re so thin a gust of wind could knock you over. Did you really think you could beat anyone?”

This time, Hua Luoyue was lucky to have run into a few cowards who got scared easily. If she had encountered actual hardened criminals, ending up in a hospital would have been the best possible outcome. Or perhaps she would have lost her life—what “outcome” would be left to talk about then?

Hua Luoyue didn’t argue. She shifted her gaze and said calmly, “I don’t have the same confidence you do, President Yu.”

Yu Zhezhi paused, tilting her head to look at her with an inquisitive gaze. She asked, despite knowing the answer, “What confidence?”

Hua Luoyue turned to look at her and smiled. “Money, power, family background, status, reputation…”

The Yu family had been in business for generations. By the time it reached Yu Zhezhi, it was a family with a long history. Even though the current Yu Corporation had only technically existed for about a hundred years, that history was capital in itself. Yu Zhezhi’s father and grandfather had been incompetent, nearly squandering the entire family fortune. Her father’s generation, in particular, had almost sold off the oldest family industries for a pittance less than ten years ago.

But even a starving camel is bigger than a horse. Even in the dire straits of needing to sell the company, the eldest Miss of the Yu family never had to worry about basic survival. Furthermore, Yu Zhezhi was like a lucky star sent by the heavens to save the family; after a few years in her hands, she had brought the clan back to life. Just mentioning her name in certain circles earned her looks of admiration.

If someone like her encountered the same situation as Hua Luoyue, she could strike the bullies’ weak points just by opening her mouth.

But Hua Luoyue couldn’t. It was impossible for her. She had no money, no power, and not even a friend willing to stand by her side. Her father’s debts were a disgrace; for someone like her, if she simply endured, she would likely only receive a few words of pity after she was dead.

In the original plot, meeting Yu Zhezhi was a stroke of luck for the host. Although she couldn’t get the love she sought, she at least gradually regained her dignity as a human being. Even if it was just a contract marriage, with the name “Yu Zhezhi” backing her up, others had to show her some respect. This confidence would become even more apparent once she left school and entered society.

Unfortunately, the current Hua Luoyue had nothing. At this moment, Yu Zhezhi was even ashamed to take this “country bumpkin” out in public.

Yu Zhezhi hadn’t expected Hua Luoyue to be so blunt. Moreover, she sounded entirely without resentment, stating it as simply and clearly as a fact.

In the past, whenever Yu Zhezhi looked at her, she would stare at her face but try her best to avoid connecting this girl to the “White Moonlight” in her heart. Initially, she felt the girl wasn’t worthy. Yu Zhezhi didn’t deny that she looked down on Hua Luoyue. It wasn’t quite contempt, but she had lowered her expectations to the absolute bottom, viewing her as an immature child from a relative’s family.

Until this moment. Yu Zhezhi truly looked Hua Luoyue in the eye and realized that, at some point, that annoying, timid, small-minded aura had vanished. Sometimes it was hard to remember she was talking to a girl six years younger than herself.

Temperament is a mysterious thing.

Yu Zhezhi gradually stopped feeling annoyed about being forced to stay in City X. Their silence lasted for about two minutes, but Hua Luoyue didn’t feel anxious. Instead, she seriously read the test report from beginning to end. Having truly suffered in her past life, she knew the importance of physical health. Even without Yu Zhezhi’s request, she would have found a way to nourish her body once she moved back.

“Do you hate me?” Yu Zhezhi asked out of the blue.

“No…” Hua Luoyue answered without thinking. Then, she looked at her in confusion. “Why would you think that?”

“I thought maybe you felt my life has been too peaceful lately, so you wanted to create some waves for me,” Yu Zhezhi said.

In short, she thought the girl was causing trouble on purpose. Otherwise, she couldn’t understand why someone who didn’t even dare to stop her father from stealing her mother’s life-saving money suddenly found the courage to fight over a few insults. She even suspected Hua Luoyue was intentionally picking fights to give her a headache.

“Maybe I’m just being spoiled by your favor,” Hua Luoyue said, blinking.

This was not the first time she had blurted out something that sounded almost like flirting. Yu Zhezhi’s brow twitched violently.

Hua Luoyue realized her slip and added an explanation: “Maybe I feel like I have a backer now, so I’m a bit braver.”

This explanation was reasonable enough. Yu Zhezhi raised an eyebrow. “Then why did you call Yunting?”

“I think Assistant Li is a good person,” Hua Luoyue said. “Maybe she would be willing to help me solve my trouble.”

She just hadn’t expected Yu Zhezhi to come along.

Yu Zhezhi gave a light snort. “You certainly trust her.”

Hua Luoyue said, “I trust you.”

Yu Zhezhi countered, “Trust me with what?”

Hua Luoyue said, “Trust that you won’t just leave me be.”

“…” Yu Zhezhi fell silent for a moment.

Hua Luoyue spoke with such certainty, without a second of hesitation. This heavy trust was truly unexpected. Throughout their interaction, Yu Zhezhi had never given her much of a warm welcome. She was quick with the money, but she had never intended to interfere with Hua Luoyue’s social struggles.

Assistant Li’s previous words popped into Yu Zhezhi’s mind. Hua Luoyue was almost entirely alone in this world. For such a person, even a tiny bit of kindness would be like a piece of driftwood to a drowning person; once they grabbed it, they would never let go.

This was not the result Yu Zhezhi wanted. Her lips pulled down slightly as she instinctively leaned back, a physical movement of distancing herself.

“I just don’t want to get tangled in a lawsuit right after getting married. Finding a replacement is a hassle.”

Hua Luoyue paused, quickly realizing the other woman had misunderstood something. Her lips twitched. However, this “avoiding at all costs” attitude actually made her find the situation a bit funny. And despite what she said, Yu Zhezhi’s gaze still drifted back to Hua Luoyue’s face. It was likely hard to resist the power of that face saying the words “I trust you.”

“I know…” Hua Luoyue slowed her speech, saying softly, “It’s ‘to each their own needs.’ I only hope to finish my studies peacefully. I won’t have any thoughts I shouldn’t have.”

She did her best to hide all her sharp edges, speaking unhurriedly in a gentle voice. she knew exactly what kind of tone was most comfortable to the ear. But because of this deliberate gentleness, she became even more similar to that other woman.

Yu Zhezhi, hearing that voice, dazed for a moment. When she came back to her senses, she only heard Hua Luoyue’s final, incredibly soft sentence:

“I will be obedient.”